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Create bearing walls

Tekla Structural Designer
2021
Tekla Structural Designer

Create bearing walls

Bearing walls provide resistance to vertical compressive loads (but not lateral loads) and support certain other member types. Unreinforced masonry walls, for example, can be modeled as bearing walls.

You can model bearing walls over several story heights. In these cases, Tekla Structural Designer creates a single wall with a uniform thickness between the base and top level.

Tekla Structural Designer determines the location of the wall from the alignment specified in the bearing wall properties, and the selected insertion points.

Note: Bearing walls do not perform the same function as wall panels. In other words, bearing walls do not allow you to apply loads calculated by the Wind Wizard to your structure.

Therefore, in order to apply wind loads, you must create additional wall panels in the same locations as the bearing walls.

Material type

Three Material types are available for bearing walls:

  • Concrete

  • Timber

  • General

Concrete Bearing Walls

There are two Concrete types available:

  • Normal

  • Lightweight

The Grade lists all the available grades in the Materials database under the current head code for the selected Concrete type.

Timber Bearing Walls

The Grade lists all the available grades in the Materials database under the current head code for Timber.

General Bearing Walls

The Grade lists all the available General materials in the Materials database under the current head code.
If the grade you want to use is not listed, you can open the Materials dialog and add the grade to the database, taking care to first select the General material type as shown below.

Geometric rules

  • Bearing walls can only be created as rectangular in a vertical plane.
  • Wall openings are ignored.
  • Bearing walls cannot be included in cores.

Create bearing walls in a level view

Note: Ensure that you have defined the construction levels between which the wall will run, and the grid points between which the wall will lie.
  1. On the Model tab, click Bearing Wall.

    The wall will adopt the properties displayed in the Properties window.

  2. Go to the Properties window.
  3. If necessary, adjust that the base level and top level of the wall.
  4. Adjust thickness and other wall properties according to your needs.
  5. In the model, click the start point of the wall.
  6. Click the end point of the wall.

    Tekla Structural Designer creates the wall between the selected start and end points.

Create bearing walls in a frame or structure view

Note: In order to define a wall in a frame or structure view, you must have already defined the construction levels between which the wall will run and the grid points between which it will lie.
  1. On the Model tab, click Bearing Wall.

    The wall will adopt the properties displayed in the Properties window.

  2. In the Properties window, adjust the thickness and other wall properties according to your needs.
  3. In the model, click the first corner of the wall.
  4. Click the opposite corner of the wall.

    Tekla Structural Designer creates the wall between the selected points.

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